Saturday, October 31, 2015

This year, I’m doing something different for NaNoWriMo. Instead of writing 50,000 words, I have
decided to devote all the time the would have spent writing
to editing my already-written first novel. 50 hours of editing. That’s probably
what it needs to be reader-worthy.

See, last year I finished writing the content in Chiang Mai,Thailand, and when I ran out of stuff to write, I started writing for my diary
or for other stories. But I don’t want to do that this year.

I started participating in Nano in 2013 while living in
Shimane, Japan. I wrote so that my story would be more than just an idea in my
head. I wrote so that I would know what kind of writer I was. I wanted to test
my skill, my patience, my endurance, and I wanted to see if I could write that
much while holding down a full-time job. Turns out, I can.

I learned a lot about myself in the first year, so in 2014
when I was in Myanmar and Thailand, I did Nano again to confirm what I learned,
and to test my abilities in a more nomadic environment.

This year, I have nothing more to learn about myself as a
writer, and I have no new writing to do. Though I’ve already written some
chapters for my second novel and have a vague idea of the story, I feel I need
the experience ofcompleting one novel
before undertaking another one. The last thing I want is thirty unfinished and
unreadable novels on my desktop.I need
something I can show to people. I need something complete. I need to experience
the entire process of novel writing, from initial idea to final edits.

At this time, my skill level is incomplete. I know how to
conjure up ideas and convert them into stories. I know how to describe,
embellish, and elaborate on my ideas. I know how to weave them into a
compelling sequence that surprises and enticed a reader. I know how to tweak
the stories and structure and characters to help them reach their potential, to
bring out their truest selves. But I don’t yet know, or haven’t
experienced, the final editing and structuring that must occur before a story
is actually readable.

I know from my meticulous record-keeping of the last two
years, that I write about 1,000 words per hour on average. This means I will
need to spend 50 hours this next month editing my 120,000-word novel. I have no
idea how much text I can edit in one hour. If the work doesn’t need a lot of changes,
I suppose I can cover quite a lot of text, but then there are those paragraphs
that command a full hour of attention and focus, which is sometimes what it
takes to get them just right. For that reason, I won’t be tracking how many
words I edit per hour, and my only goal is to finish editing the entire novel.
This is a different goalthan merely
writing 50,000 words. 50,000 words is measurable. But whether or notmy novel is “complete” is purely subjective. Only I will know whenI'm satisfied. So, I’ve committed at least 50 hours this next month to editing, but I have no idea whether that
time amount is too much or not enough. This is the part of the process in which
I still have a lot to learn.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

I went to Ha Long Bay for the water and
scenery, not for the caves. I didn’t even know there were caves there until the
boat docked and we were told to get off. Being kind of a cave nerd, imagine my
surprise and delight, to find that we would be visiting a cave! Unfortunately,
Sung Sot Cave, also known as the Surprise Cave, was crowded with tourists on that day, as it
was the end of December and close to New Years.

The lighting in this cave was strange, all technicolor and neon, like a show. I enjoyed this weird neon cave, it was a totally
different experience from Mulu’s dark and haunting ones.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

I knew
that my trip to Maine would be filled with lobster, but what I didn’t expect
was how many different ways I would get to eat lobster. I was prepared for a
monotony of steamed lobster with butter and lobsters rolls every day, but
surprisingly I never had to repeat a dish, there was so much variety.

I'm still
not a believer in the seafood-diary combo, but this would have made it
impossible to eat lobster in Maine. Whether is was melted butter on the side,
or mashed lobster with mayo in a roll, or cream in a bisque or stew, diary was
omnipresent.

In nearly
every dish I was impressed with the portion of the meat and fresh taste. But if
you want to recreate my lobster experience add $20 to your daily food budget,
because lobster don’t come cheap.

Monday, October 26, 2015

The city of Oda is just outside the limits of Izumo, about
45 minutes to one hour by car. It is accessible by train, but the San-In line
only comes few times a day, is slow, and
often late. Also, nothing is within walking distance to Oda Station.

I recommend exploring the area by car. I have divided the
Oda activities up into two regions, which are about an hour apart form one
another: Mt. Sanbe region and Iwami Ginzan region

Mt. Sanbe region

Before you climb Mt. Sanbe, visit Sanbe Burger, at the
foothills of the park. You might recognize Sanbe Burger from Izumo, but this is
the original. Definitely worth a stop. You will need the calories if you plan
to climb to Sanbe.

Mt. Sanbe or Sanbe-San, as it is known in Japanese, is the generic name for a range of mountains in Japan. Osanbe San is the tallest. There is also Ko-Sanbe, which is a steep course, involving climbing on all fours, and Jo-Sanbe, which is much easier, but offers a strange and surreal view from the top, covering with netting.

I have personally climbed Ko Sanbe, Jo-Sanbe and O-Sanbe.
Here are some images from those hikes:

After climbing the mountain, you will be a sweaty mess. How
about rinsing off at the nearby Sanbe Onsen, an internationally famous place
with traditional outdoor baths. Usually people with tattoos are not allowed in
Japanese Onsens, but Sanbe welcomes them. Admission is cheap and I usually
spend about 1 hour at the onsen.

After the Onsen, I recommend dinner at Café Doma. This was
one of my go-to cafes in Shimane, but it also serves great food. I recommend
the curry rice, or whatever their seasonal special is. Here are some photos
from this great café.

Iwami Ginzan region

Iwami Ginzan is a restored mining town in another part of
Oda. It is a UNESCO world heritage site with a visitor center completed in
2007. There are two main things to view here: the mining town, and the mines.
One could easily spend hours walking slowly down the main road of the mining
town, visiting tiny tea shops and souvenir shops, but the mine itself is also
worth a visit. Foreign visitors even get a special discount, and when I took my
father, they even had an English-speaking guide present.

Park at the Visitor's center and take a bus to the start of the town, or park near the police station and walk. It's about a half-hour stroll from the start of the town to the entrance of the mines.

A walk through the old mining town

view of the mining town from atop a temple

a walk up to the shrine

view from along the mining town

a patio of a local shop

view of the houses and fall leaves

crossing a bridge while walking through the town

crossing over a bridge in the town

view from inside a store

ascending the stairs to a temple

view from the path to the mines

cemetery near the entrance to the mines

the mining town

underground in the mines

things got pretty narrow

but at least it was well lit

After visiting the mines, which was surround by Shimane’s
lush and beautiful scenery, I recommend having coffee or lunch in the mining
town. Café Cagliari serves excellent coffee and muffins. The gregarious owner
lived in Italy for a while and will spare you no detail if you are willing to
listen.